In Izhevsk, officers of Centre of Counteraction Against Extremism (CPE, new Russian political police, formed in January of 2009) are falsifying a case against members of Autonomous Action. According to Galina Shutova, who is yet a witness in the case, state wants to make her a terrorist: “Officer of CPE Artyom Ahmetzyanov said to me directly, that he wants to do anything to lock me down”.
A case against local activist is currently filed according to charges on statute 207 of Russian criminal codex (“terrorist hoax”). Currently three persons, Galina Shutova, Anton Sobolev and Kirill Shumikhin are witnesses of the case. Police officers claim, that 4th of November around 12:20 they called to police department of Udmurtian Republic, and claimed that a bomb was put to Medical College by participators of ultra-right demonstration “Russian march”, and that Galina did organised the call. Apparently police wants to claim that this way anti-fascists wanted to sabotage a major fascist event in the city. All of the accused have an alibi: according to version of the investigation, hoax was made from a public telephone, which was close to cafe “Turist” (street of Communards 291), but in moment of the phone call three were in center of the city, more than two kilometers from the cafe. According to activists, when bomb hoax allegedly took place, they were arrested by a group of police officers, illegally videotaped and searched by them. Amongst the people, who arrested and searched them, they recognized Artyom Akhmetzyanov, who is an officer of CPE.
Artyom Akhmetzyanov
6th of November around 8 AM CPE officers Akhmetzyanov and Konstantin Polcherednikov illegally arrested Kirill Shumikhin, in front of his shocked mother and without providing any documents (of their own or an affidavit). Kirill was taken to second department of Izhevsk Police, where he was interrogated, verbally abused and threated during the following 9 hours. Affidavit was passed to him post factum, during interrogation.
Konstantin Polcherednikov
In morning of the same day, parents of Galina Shutova woke up hearing boots kicking their door. Police was about to break into the flat, looking for Galina who was not at home – she was visiting her friends with Anton. A bit later, according to Galina, she was called with a police officer, who refused to present himself, just saying that he was an investigator. Anonymous police demanded that Galina should come to an interrogation, without pointing out the case and her legal status. When Galina said that she will not come without an affidavit, anonymous caller promised to send an affidavit immediately. As Galina and Anton were at place of friends, she promised to anonymous caller to meet at the streets. In 10 minutes Akhmetzyanov showed up, and Galina was given an affidavit where number of the case and status of Galina were not indicated. Only name of some lieutenant Huzyakhmetov, who should be interrogating Galina, was indicated.
Around 9 AM Galina and Anton were taken to second department of Izhevsk Police. They were told that they were being interrogated as witnesses on case of an alleged bomb hoax against Medical college of Izhevsk, which took place 4th of November.
Both were proposed a lie detector test. Galina refused test, and said that she wants to call to human rights activists and to find herself a lawyer. For half an hour, CPE officials did not gave her a chance to call – her mobile phone was taken away by police already on way to police station. According to Galina, she was targeted with psychological pressure and abuse by CPE officers Artyom Akhmetzyanov and others. They yelled at her “what are you afraid of in case you did not called!” and “show that you do not lie!”, they also accused girl that she is “disturbing their work”. Unscrupulous CPE officers attempted to force Galina to give testimony that she is “playing time”, she was photographied and her fingerprints were taken without any documentation. Galina was pressured to refuse from a lawyer. As a result, she agreed to take a lie detector test. Questions asked by CPE officers during the test were unclear and uncorrect, and they also had not any direct relation with the case.
When Galina was given back her mobile phone, she called to Human Rights Centre of Prikamsk. After half an hour three human rights activists arrived to second police department, but for several hours police refused to admiss them to building where interrogation was going on. Only after arrival of the lawyer Rustem Valliulin situation changed a bit, and officers started to behave themselves a bit more correctly towards Galina. Eventually she was questioned for 8 hours.
Another arrested the same morning – Anton Sobolev – was taken to department the same morning, and taken to another cabinet. He was illegally put to a cell, where several criminals were already sitting. According to Anton, arrested started to claim that he was a gay and threated him with violence, then one of them “as a friend” gave him “advice” to “confess everything”, otherwise “he would have a really hard time in prison”. A moral pressure with means of using other prisoners is a traditional means used by police to intimidate witnesses and to give necessary testimony. Then Anton was taken to lie detector test and during interrogation he was proposed a “friendship and cooperation” by CPE officers. Then they showed a touching compassion by proposing Anton to change his girlfriend, as Galina is “taken him to wrong ways”.
Anton was shown a videotape, where alleged bomb hoax was claimed to take place. Anton said that there was a tall guy and a girl in the video, that guy was much taller than Anton and girl was dressed with a short coat whereas that day Galina was dressed in an overcoat. Anton says that this videotape is direct evidence that none of the arrested had any relation with the mythical phone call. Alltogether Anton spent 9 hours in the police station.
7th of November Galina was questioned in second department from 11:30 AM to 1 PM with a lawyer Rustem Valliulin. During interrogation, she was given results of the lie detector test, according to which she is was “organiser of the bomb hoax”. According to Valliulin, that was a provocation from side of the investigators: “The lie detector test is no evidence nor testimony against my client, as questions were thus formulated that they were to mislead Galina in the beginning, they had no connection with the case, and I believe that such evidence will not be regarded in the court.”
Galina was shocked for the events: “You may never expect that it may happen with you, that police is coming after you to fabricate a ase. I am totally shocked by the insolence and rudeness of the CPE officers Artyom Akhmetzyanov, Konstantin Polcherednikov and others.”
According to anti-fascists and participators of Autonomous Action, this criminal case is just another episode in campaign of repression against anti-fascists and anarchists of Izhevsk. Since beginning of the year 2008 continuous repressions have taken place: more than hundred people have been illegally arrested for various reasons, six fabricated criminal cases have been opened, four of them were eventually closed due to fact that crimes had not taken place.
During investigation of these cases CPE officers have continuously used illegal means. Witnesses and suspected have been physically and morally abused. There has been a number of cases of police officers intimidating activists. In vast majority of these cases, declarants have been Nazis with legal trouble, practically all of them have serious criminal cases against them (attempted murder, hooligans, grievous bodily harm, vandalism and others) – thus cooperation with police against anarchist and anti-fascist activist is for them a means to get out of trouble. .
We ask everyone to show solidarity and not to allow state repressive apparatus to spread fear, to falsify criminal cases and to torture and beat up our comrades in their prisons. Publish information about situation in Izhevsk, call, write, send the attached appeal to Administration of President of Udmurtian Republic and to government of Udmurtia, and to Police department of Udmurtia with a demand to stop persecution of anarchists!
We – antifascists and participators of “Autonomous Action” demand closure of CPE in Udmurtia, as CPE officers are openly fabricating criminal cases, we demand to expel from police departments of Udmurtia officers, who have participated to torture and beatings of activists of Autonomous Action,, that is Artyom Akhmetzyanov, Konstantin Polcherednikov and others.
Autonomous Action of Izhevsk
Anti-fascists of Izhevsk
Please sign and send the petition below by fax, regular or e-mail, demanding to halt repressions against members of Autonomous Action.
For additional information, contact Human Rights center of Prikamsk: +7 3412 71-4457, (+7 950) 833-6276, E-mail: prikam-center@yandex.ru
Administration of president and government of the Udmurtian Republicand
Pushkinskaya street 214, 426007 Izhevsk Russia
Phone/Fax: (+7-3412) 497-200
E-mail: gov@udmnet.ru
Assistant of the president of republic of Udmurtia
Nelli Nikolaevna Mamaeva
(+7-3412) 497-054
e-mail: s_president@gov.udmnet.ru
Minister of internal affairs of Udmurtian republic
Valeri Vladimirovich Sosnovskiy
ul. Sovetskaya 17, 426000 Izhevsk Russia
(+7-3412) 934-190
Department of the information and public relations in police ministry of internal affairs of Udmurtian republic
ul. Sovetskaya 17, 426000 Izhevsk Russia
Chief of depatment Elvira Rinatovna
Phone: (+7-3412) 932-186,
Fax: (+7-3412) 934-243
press@mvd.udm.ru
Prosecutor's office of Udmurtian republic
Prosecutor Sergey Valentinovich Panov
ul. Sivkova 194
426011 Izhevsk Russia
phone: (+7-3412) 94-85-00, Fax: (+7-3412) 78-25-76
e-mail: Prosecutor@udm.net
SKP – Administration of Investigations of Committee of Investigations under prosecutor's office of Russian Federation in Udmurtian Republic
Chief of the department Vladimir Anatolyevich Nikeshkin
ul. Sivkova 194, 426011 Izhevsk Russia
Phone (+7-3412)78-08-04 факс (+7-3412)78–56-33,
e-mail: upravlenie@susk18.ru
Centre of counteraction Against Extremism
Chief Aleksey Olegovich Kozlov
Secretary : (+7-3412)948-764
Center of counteraction against
Department of investigation of October region of Izhevsk
ul. Karl Marksa 393, 426000 Izhevsk
Chief Andrey Victorovich Chirkov
+7 3412 43–69–00
Appeal
In beginning of the November 2009 officers of the Centre of Counteraction Against Extremism fabricated a criminal case against participators of the anti-fascist movement in Izhevsk. A case against local activist is currently filed according to charges on statute 207 of Russian criminal codex (“terrorist hoax”). Currently three persons, Galina Shutova, Anton Sobolev and Kirill Shumikhin are witnesses of the case. Police officers claim, that 4th of November around 12:20 they called to police department of Udmurtian Republic, and claimed that a bomb was put to Medical College by participators of Russian march, and that Galina did organised the call. All of the accused have an alibi: according to version of the investigation, hoax was made from a public telephone, which was close to cafe “Turist” (street of Communards 291), but in moment of the phone call three were in center of the city, more than two kilometers from the cafe. According to activists, when bomb hoax allegedly took place, they were arrested by a group of police officers, illegally videotaped and searched by them. Amongst the people, who arrested and searched them, they recognized Artyom Akhmetzyanov, who is an officer of CPE.
According to anti-fascists and participators of Autonomous Action, this criminal case is just another episode in campaign of repression against anti-fascists and anarchists of Izhevsk. Since beginning of the year 2008 continuous repressions have taken place: more than hundred people have been illegally arrested for various reasons, six fabricated criminal cases have been opened, four of them were eventually closed due to fact that crimes had not taken place.
During investigation of these cases CPE officers have continuously used illegal means. Witnesses and suspected have been physically and morally abused. There has been a number of cases of police officers intimidating activists. In vast majority of these cases, declarants have been Nazis with legal trouble, practically all of them have serious criminal cases against them (attempted murder, hooligans, grievous bodily harm, vandalism and others) – thus cooperation with police against anarchist and anti-fascist activist is for them a means to get out of trouble. .
We demand:
-To stop persecution of members of Autonomous Action and anti-fascist activists in Izhevsk.
-To close Centre of Counteraction Against Extremism in Udmurtia, which is fulfilling function of political police, and officers of which are fabricating cases.
-To expel from police departments of Udmurtia Artyom Akmetzyanov, Konstantin Polcherednikov and others, connected with torture and beatings of anti-fascists and activists of Autonomous Action.
Important! If you pass the appeal in any form (fax, post or e-mail), please inform Anarchist Black Cross of Moscow by e-mail. Abc-msk AT riseup.net We have no any other means to know how much appeals have been sent!
Russian original: http://avtonom.org/index.php?nid=2818